Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flexible display apparatus and, more particularly, to a flexible display apparatus which makes it easy to wind or unwind a flexible display module.
Description of the Related Art
In general, display apparatuses using flat display panels such as, for example, liquid crystal display apparatuses, plasma display apparatuses, organic light emitting display apparatuses, electrophoretic display apparatuses, and electro wetting display apparatuses, are mainly applied to, for example, laptop computers, portable electronic appliances, televisions, or monitors.
Conventional flat display panels use inflexible glass substrates and are limited in their applicability and fields of use. Thus, flexible display apparatuses, which are bendable through the use of flexible substrates such as, for example, plastic substrates rather than inflexible glass substrates, have recently received attention as new display apparatuses. In particular, research and development into flexible display apparatuses which enable a flexible display panel to be wound up like a roll is actively underway. For example, Korean Patent Laid Open Publication No. 10-2012-0093665 discloses a flexible display apparatus.
In the disclosed flexible display apparatus, a flexible display panel is wound around a roll by the restoration force of a spiral spring secured to a shaft inside the roll. The flexible display panel wound around the roll is drawn outward and unwound as a user pulls the flexible display panel.
However, since the flexible display panel is wound by being stacked on the outer circumferential surface of the roll, the conventional flexible display apparatus may suffer from damage to the flexible display panel or deterioration in the reliability of the flexible display panel due to repeated physical contact upon stacking of the flexible display panel. In addition, the flexible display panel is configured so as to be pulled out by the user's force and, thus, is difficult to apply to large flexible display apparatuses, in addition to portable flexible display apparatuses.